Hominy, meal, and grits drier.



w. L. BURNER. HOMlNY, MEAL, AND GRITS DRIER.

Patented Aug. l9, I902.

\Appliuation filed May 24, 1961.)

-2 Sheets-8hee't I.

We Model.

No. 707,384. Patented Aug. l9, I902.

w. L. BURNER.

HUMINY, MEAL, AND GRITS DRIER. (Application filed May 2-1, 1901. (NoModel.) 2 Sheets$heef 2.

mm mum!!! m: nipnms PETERS c0 fino'ro'umo. WASHINGYON. n c.

NITED STATES .ATENT' OFFICE.

WILLIAM L. BURNER, OF COLUMBUS, OHIO, ASSIGNOR TO THE CASE MANU-FAOTURING COMPANY, OF OOLUMBUS,OHIO, A CORPORATION OF OHIO.

HOMINY, MEAL, AND qmrs DRIER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 707,384, dated August19, 1902.

Application filed May 24, 1901.

T ctZZ whom it may concern.-

Beit known that I, WILLIAM L. BURNER, a citizen of the United States,and a resident of Columbus, county of Franklin, State of Ohio,

have invented certain new and. useful Improvements in Hominy,Meal, andGritsDriers, of which the followingis a specification.

My invention relates to an apparatus into which any of the productsreferred to may be IO introducedand by which they willbethoroughly driedduring their passage through the machine. In the successful drying ofthese products it is necessary thatthey bekept above a certaintemperature in order that the moisture may pass 01f freely, and it isalso essential that the currentof air em ployed for evaporating themoisture from the material shall be warm, so'that it will not chill thematerial and condense the moisture which the air is to take up and bearaway out of the machine.

My invention has for its object to provide a simple, cheap, andeffective machinein the operation of which the materialtobe dried 2 5 isintroduced at one end of the machine, re-,

peatedly taken up from the bottom and discharged at the top of themachine and permitted to gravitate in a thin stream overheating-surfaces and through an opposing current of air, and by'itssuccessive gravitations caused to advance at a rate readily through themachine, and finally pass into a tailingspout.

My invention consists in certain novel com- 3 5 binations of featureswhereby the foregoing objects are attained, as will hereinafter be fullydescribed, andparticularlyipointed out in the claims, reference beinghadto theac companying drawings, forming part of this 0 specification. 4

Figure 1 is an end elevation of a graindrier in which my improvementsare em'-' bodied. Fig. 2isa vertical transverse section of the same.Fig. 3 is a front view, partly in section; and Fig. 4 is a detail viewillustrating a portion of the elevator.

1 represents a casing the side walls of which, as shown in Fig. 2, aremade up of an outer shell 2, of wood, having openings 3 4 for theingress of air, and an inner shell 5, of

Serial No. 61,734. (No model.)

metal, spaced apart from the outer shell 2, so

the drying-chamber [within the machine.

The machine is surmounted by a hood 8,

. containingafan 9, that discharges air through the outlet 10, thussetting up acirculation in through the openings 3 4, downthroughpassages 6, ,and up through the drying-chamber 6o 7. As thedrying-chamber is provided with means, to be hereinafter described, forheating. the material as it gravitates through the chamber 7, themetallic walls 5 will be kept Warm, and consequently the air enteringthe drying-chamber through the passages 6 will be heated sufficiently toprevent condensation of the moisture on the material coming in contactwith the air.

The drier is 'providedwith a trough-bottom 7o 11 and at one end thereofa feed-spout 12, through which material is introduced to the machine}Shafts 13 14: extend longitudinally through the machine at the top andbottom thereof, respectively, and carry at their opposite endssprocket-wheels 15, around which pass chains 16, carryingelevator-buckets 17, thatextend from end to end of the machine. Thebuckets 17 pass into the trough 11 and scoop up the .material'foundtherein,'carry- 8o ing it up over the upper shaft'13 and graduallydumping it during the passages of the buckets between points at the endsof the horizontal and vertical diameters of the upper wheel15, by whichaction the material is distributed in a light stream and its gravitationback to the trough at the bottom per- ;mitted,-,wher e it isagain pickedup by the buckets and the'action repeated.

Extending longitudinally through the ma o chine are heatingpipes 18,which are connectecl together in an endless coil adapted to receivesteam-or other heating medium'from a pipe 19, Fig. 3, and dischargeit'or the-water from its condensation through a pipe'20, so that thepipes 18 are kept hot at all times during the operation of the machine.Pipes 18 are staggered in; position, so that the material does not finda'straight passage through the group of pipes, but drops upon and re Ioobounds from one to another, thus retarding its gravitation and insuringthe heating oifect of the pipes upon the material.

From the foregoing description it will be plain that the materialintroduced from the spout 12 is elevated repeatedly and permitted togravitate over, around, or among a series of heating-pipes, by which thetemperature of the material is raised and its contained moistureevaporated, while a current of warm air passes upward through the bodyof scattered gravitating material, takes up the moisture therefrom, andcarries it oif through the outlet 10. To cause the material to feedthrough the machine and gradually emerge from the end opposite to thatat which it enters, the drying-chamber 7 is provided with a longitudinalseries of cant-boards 21, each of which is pivoted at its upper endbetween a pair of longitudinal bars 22 and has secured to its lower enda shifting-bar 23, which extends longitudinally through the machine, asshown more clearlyin Fig. 3, and terminates in a controlling-handle 24.As the material drops through the group of pipes it strikes upon thecant boards 21 and is deflected slightly toward the tail end of themachine. The rapidity with which the material passes through themachine, and consequently the number of times it must be elevated andsubjected to the drying action before escaping from the machine, dependsupon the angle of the cant-boards 21. This angle maybe fixed at will bymoving the bar 23 through means of its handle 24. All that portion ofthe ma terial which has been advanced by the cant boards until it istaken up by the right-hand end of the elevator-buckets, as viewed inFig. 3, will fall upon an incline 25, (shown in said figure,) whichdirects it to a tailingspout 26.

Each elevator-bucket 17 comprises an angle-bar, as shown in. Fig. 4,slotted at 27 to receive the chain 16 and having its back 28 riveted tosolid links 29, interposed at suitable intervals in the chain 16.

30, Fig. 1, represents one of two bearingblocks which provide bearingsfor the ends of the shaft 13 and may be adjusted by screws 31, Figs. 1and 3, to regulate the tension on the chains 16.

32 represents removable panels in the outer walls 2, to which aresecured, by means which will not obstruct the air-passage6,corresponding portions of the inner shell 5, so that these parts maybe removed to permit inspection of the working of the machine.

I do not limit myself to the use of a hood on the top of the machine ora fan in said hood, inasmuch as the heating-pipes within thedrying-chamber will naturally cause an upward current of warm air, whichwill produce a downward current in the passages 6, and thus in a measureand for some purposes amply secure the circulation of air through themachine.

Having thus described my invention, the

vozsse following is what I claim as new therein and desire to secure byLetters Patent:

1. In a grain-drier, the combination of the outer shell having air-inletopenings, a de pending shell within and spaced apart from the outershell and forming air-passages on two sides of the machine, said innershell so constructed as to permit said passages to communicate at theirlower ends with the dryingchamber for heating the grain, said shellsforming a casing for said drying-chamber, and means for dropping thegrain in the upper portion of the drying-chamber to permit it togravitate therein, substantially as set forth.

2. In a grain-drier, the combination of the outer shell 2 havingopenings3 and 4, the inner metallic shell 5 forming with said outer shellair-passages and terminating short of the bottom of the machine to bringthe passages into communication with the dryingchamber 7, said shellsforming a casing for said drying-chamber, means for elevating anddropping material within the drying-chamber, the heating-pipes 18 withinthe dryingchamber, and means for delivering and discharging materialfromthe machine.

3. In a grain-drier, the combination of the outer shell having air-inletopenings, a depending shell within and spaced apart from the outer shelland forming air-passages on two sides of the machine, said inner shellso constructed as to permit said passages to communicate at their lowerends with the dryingchamber for heating the grain, said shells forming acasing for said drying-chamber, of

shafts extending longitudinally through said drying chamber and carryingsprocketwheels, chains traveling on the sprocketwheels, elevator-bucketsextending the length of the drying-chamber and mounted on said chains,and a coil of heating-pipes for drying material as it gravitates fromthe point of dis charge of the elevator-buckets, substantially as setforth.

4. In a grain-drier, the combination of the outer shell having air-inletopenings, a depending shell within and spaced apart from the outer shelland forming air-passages on two sides of the machine, said inner shellso constructed as to permit said passages to communicate at their lowerends with the dryingchamber for heating the grain, said shells forming acasing for said drying-chamber, of shafts'extending longitudinallythrough the drying chamber and carrying sprocketwheels, chains mountedupon the sprocketwheels,elevator-buckets extending the length of themachine mounted upon the chains and a coil of heating-pipes extendinglongitudinally the machine in the path of the gravitating material whichis elevated and discharged by the buckets, substantially as set forth.

5. Ina grain-drier, the combination of the outer shell having air-inletopenings, a depending shell within and spaced apart therefrom andforming air-passages'on two sides of the machine, said inner shell soconstructed as to permit said passages to communicate at their lowerends with the drying-chamber for heating the grain, said shells formingthe drying chamber, sprocket wheels suitably mounted to rotate in theupper and lower portions of said drying-chamber, chains traveling uponthe sprocket-wheels, elevator-buckets mounted upon the chains elevatingthe material from the bottom of the machine and dropping it at the top,so that it is permitted to gravitate through the drying-chamber, a coilof heating-pipes for drying the grain as it gravitates, and a series ofcant-boards by which the material is caused to progress through themachine as it repeatedly gravitates, for the purpose set forth.

6. In a grain-drier, the combination of the outer shell having air-inletopenings, a depending shell within and spaced apart therefrom andforming air-passages on two sides of the machine, said inner shell soconstructed as to permit said passages to communicate at their lowerends with the drying-chamber for heating the grain, said shells formingthe drying chamber, elevator buckets suitably mounted within thedrying-chamber and extending the length thereof, a coil of heatingpipesgrouped in the path of gravitating material which is elevated anddischarged by the buckets, cant boards located beneath the group ofheating-pipes, an inlet-spout at one end of the machine and atailing-spout at the other end of the machine. I

7. In a drier, the combination of the casing formed of an outernon-conducting or wooden shell 2, and an inner metallic heatconductingshell 5 forming with the outer shell a passage 6, which communicates atits upper end with the outer atmosphere, and at its lower end with thedrying-chamber of the machine, said shells forming a casing for saiddrying-chamber, a hood 8 provided with a fan 9 above the machine forsetting up a circulation of air downward through the passage 6 andupward through the drying-chamber, the endless-chain elevator havingbuckets extending the length of the drying chamber continually raisingand dropping material therein, the group of longitudinal heating-pipesextending through the dryingechamber grouped in the path of thegravitating material discharged by the elevator-buckets, theintake-spout at one end of the machine, the tailing-spout at the otherend of the machine, a series of cant-boards 21 located in the path ofthe gravitating material, an incline 25 at the tailing end of themachine and directing material to the tailingoutlet, substantially asset forth.

' 8. In a grain-drier, the combination of a suitable drying-chamber andmeans for elevating andprecipitating grain into said drying-chamber,said means comprising suitablyarranged sprocket-wheels, chainscarriedloy said wheels, said chains having solid links interposed atsuitable intervals therein and buckets carried by said chains comprisingslotted angle-bars, said slots adapted to receive said chains wherebysaid buckets are capable of being riveted to said solid links. 1 WILLIAML. BURNER. Witnesses:

O. E. BRIGHT, G. W. BROWN.

